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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27981738">Dreams of an Absolution</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonlightIcarus/pseuds/MoonlightIcarus'>MoonlightIcarus</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, M/M, Post-Canon, Rescue, Self-Hatred, Suicidal Thoughts, Torture</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 17:01:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,167</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27981738</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonlightIcarus/pseuds/MoonlightIcarus</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Robotnik is gone, and Stone had to defend the lab from the government agents who wanted to steal its knowledge. However he is only one man, and he is abducted and tortured. Stone dreams of freedom, but is that something he believes he deserves after his failure.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dr. Eggman | Dr. Robotnik/Agent Stone</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>64</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Dreams of an Absolution</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Was this death? Was this the end of it all? Would his screams finally cease to deafen his own ears. </p><p>It wouldn’t be, this would never end, death wasn’t an option for him.</p><p>They had come so quickly after the doctor had vanished, the sun was still up on the day of his disappearance when they came to the lab in their unmarked vans, wearing their generic suits and neutral expressions, acting as scavengers to pick at what was left from the dead, until naught but bones was left to recognize it by. The vulchers had descended.</p><p>Stone had tried to fight them off, incapacitating who he could and shooting those he couldn't, however they had brought an army with them, and Stone only had so many bullets. It would only be a matter of time before he was subdued, though that didn’t mean he hadn’t tried to resist. It wasn’t until the third time that he was forced down that he failed to get back up. Even as he was held down against the dirt outside the lab be screamed for them to stop their thievery. </p><p>They ignored him. </p><p>As his consciousness faded he watched in horror and shame as machines and devices were torn away, and carried out of the lab.</p><p>Stone was forced to face the reality of the situation. He had failed his assignment.</p><p>….</p><p>Lucidity had been fleeting since then, the government had captured him, and they clearly had plans for him given how he was strapped down to a chair. His head was cloudy and his mouth was dry, so it must have been drugs. Stone could vaguely recognize this for what it was, an interrogation. But he lacked the mental capacity to understand why. He had already failed to protect the Doctor’s things, what more could they want from him.</p><p>“Information.” They said, though they never bothered to specify what. In time it proved evident why it was so vague, these people didn’t want to know something, they desired to know everything. Every minuscule detail and minute reason why.</p><p>He tried to resist, funneled all his willpower and training into keeping himself silent, but these were the same people who had trained him, and they knew how to make him break. As Stone screamed out the passwords and the codes to the tech, fresh tears sprung from his eyes, joining the tracks that had already been there. </p><p>He had held out for as long as he could but in the end, he had betrayed the doctor again, handed over the keys to his insurmountable knowledge because he was too weak to resist the pain. </p><p>Stone was dragged back to his room after that, maybe he would spend his life here now that he had worn out his usefulness. Just a man destined to rot away in concrete walls as the world spun on around him. If only life were merciful enough for that.</p><p>More agents came the next day as they had all the days before, and they dragged Stone into the interrogation room. He tried to tell them he didn’t have anything else to give them, but the faces watching him remained unchanged and they came at him with needles and knives, cutting him open before patching him up to repeat the process elsewhere.</p><p>…..</p><p>One day Stone was greeted by the face of the general, weathered and steeled by his past the man hardly acknowledged Stone as he was strapped into a chair. It was humiliating to have a new audience there view his weakness.</p><p>“Why are you here? What’s going on?” Stone asked with is abused voice, but the other man only stared at him with hatred. </p><p>He took something up off the table on the far side of the room. As he approached Stone recognized it as a crowbar. Realization came to him as the general swung it at his legs. They weren’t done with him yet, maybe they never would be, not as long as there were still people in the world who hated Dr. Robotnik. They couldn’t take out their frustrations on the Doctor himself so Stone would end up being the substitute for those frustrations.</p><p>He screamed when the metal hit his exposed kneecap. They wouldn’t break it, too messy of an injury to deal with but they would still use it to hurt him. The general then swung again this time aiming lower for his shin. Stone couldn’t hear the crack over his own pained voice, but he certainly felt it.</p><p>Stone believed he had no qualms in breaking down, not now that he’d already done so before when he spilled Robotnik’s secrets, but it was different here. This man wasn’t hurting him for information, he did so because he wanted to, and giving in, crying and letting the man see him break, was tormenting stone, knowing that as he begged to hive the General was taking what he wanted. Stone was trapped no amount of begging or divulging would bring him any mercy.</p><p>As the crowbar was dropped to the ground Stone wept tears of relief.</p><p>Walking wasn’t possible after that, Stone fell to the floor and he was carried to his cell. He didn’t see who, but someone was wrapping his feel, not with love or care, but cold efficiency, only putting in as much effort as possible to guarantee that he wouldn’t need an amputation.</p><p>He was given a short break, they never stopped hurting him but they seemed less intent on breaking his bones. About two weeks later he came to the room again only this time he wasn’t strapped into a chair. A needle pierced his neck and he fell stiffly to the ground, standing was a challenge as it were, but his arms were locking up and stone couldn’t even pull himself up.</p><p>There was a voice, one Stone recognized. It belonged to a senator that Robotnik had been blackmailing for a while before his disappearance. A pair of black dress shoes came into his line of sight before they began to kick harshly into his chest without remorse. Stone still couldn’t operate him limbs so he had to endure the onslaught.</p><p>More came, some of them he recognized and others he didn’t, all were hellbent on bringing him down until he was nearly begging for death. He had nothing left to live for, he had already failed in assignment, so why not embrace it. </p><p>….</p><p>They didn’t give him food instead sticking an IV into his arm to keep him alive, even still Stone began to wither away, ribs protruding and skin grown loose. Being alive was something that only applied to him in the barest of terms.</p><p>Sedatives were pumped into him with the IV. He might have been able to power through them before his artificial weight loss, but now he existed firmly in the realm of exhausting. Slowly his body ceased cooperating with him, and Stone was forced to rely on his tormentors to walk, that is if they dint push him to the ground.</p><p>Some days he would fall and then they would make him crawl the rest of the way to the interrogation room. On the days when he felt stinger and more able they would send him tumbling to the ground anyways, but the worst was when he could even crawl on his own.</p><p> Through lack of use Stone had become week, so if he hit the floor he wouldn’t make it back so. If that happened one of the agents would grab a limb and drag him there, humiliating him before he had even made it to the room.</p><p>Stone had ceased screaming and begging. The sadists ignored his please, so all his cries served to do was hurt his own ears. That was fine though, screams took too much energy and he needed to conserve as much of that as possible now, he didn’t want to die. Did he?</p><p>Time lost its meaning for him. When all you want to do is die, your time alive ceases to matter. The drugs didn’t help though, and existence became a constant stupor for him. Sunlight was a foreign concept, his world now only illuminated by florescent lights.</p><p>Consciousness blurred together as the pain of his waking life persisted there as well. There was only one thing left that could even distinguish the two for him, Robotnik.</p><p>When he slept Robotnik would come and free Stone from his captors, holding him close as he took Stone away from this vile place. It was a pleasant reversal of their normal roles where Stone was meant to guard Robotnik above all else, but the dreams always ended the same way. Before they made it outside Robotnik would kill him for his incompetence and betrayal, and Stone couldn’t even blame him.</p><p>That feeling of true betrayal it was almost something that Stone could have ignored entirely if it didn’t linger in his mind as it did. Those few fleeting seconds where the Doctor embraced him the way they used to only do behind closed doors was killing him.</p><p> He had started to cry in his sleep again because of it, the guards and agents had to have noticed it and he was surprised that none of them brought it up to taunt him, though no one ever talked to him anymore, likely because he didn’t qualify as a human now.</p><p>….</p><p>His cell door opened with only it’s creak to greet him. He was unsure if the guards were instructed not to speak with him or if they did that of their own volition, either way, Stone hadn’t heard another voice since the interrogators asked him for the code to the technology that they had taken form the lab.</p><p>As he stepped out of the door a guard flanked him on each side. They didn’t restrain him or anything, there was no need, as he was too weak to run or fight back. These people were there to intimidate him and display how weak he bad become.</p><p>The first step outside of his room would always give away weather or not Stone would be able to walk to the interrogation room that day, and he was falling down more and more as time went on. His feet failed to get a grip on the floor and he came tumbling down. His body fell straight down the impact leaving him winded already. He needed to get up, they had dragged him in yesterday and if they had to do it again so soon they’d start kicking him in the ribs again.</p><p>On his first attempt of pushing himself off dirty concrete Stone lost his grip before both of his palms were even splayed out and his face hit the slab flooring, bruising his cheek. If he still had a reason to care about his appearance he may have been worried about that, but ever since he developed the prevalent bags under his eyes his appearance wasn’t even a factor in life anymore.</p><p>There was a sound akin to an explosion that came from from away, but Stone pain it no mind, he was preoccupied with trying to wrap his hands around his torso to protect him from the inevitable flurry of incoming kicks. With eyes squeezed tightly shut he waited and as the seconds drew on the tension mounted until Stone was forced to open them out of his own morbid curiosity.</p><p>The guards were gone, nowhere in sight and nothing left behind to trace them by. A normal person might have felt relief or joy, but stone has been broken in like a beaten dog. He was smarter than this, running was pointless, because more men would come in their place. He could have cried at the underhanded tactic if he weren’t so dehydrated.</p><p>Stone resigned himself to waiting. The stone floor was cold against his body, but he couldn’t do anything more than curl tighter around himself. There were more loud noises that disrupted his dozing, but it was nothing he had to concern himself with yet, whatever it was it would reach him eventually, and what it did then was something Stone was willing to accept. </p><p>“Stone!” Came a voice. Stone wasn’t sure if it was the concern in their tone or just the fact that he had finally heard another person’s voice after so long, but he mustered up his strength to look at the person addressing him.</p><p>It was Robotnik. He looked so different from their last encounter yet he was painfully familiar. His body had grown muscular, and his head was roughly shaved balled. His mustache was large and bushy, so unlike what stone had seen from the man before. However the trait that truly gave away his identity were his eyes and the insanity that rested behind them.</p><p>Stone could recall that barely contained madness following the Doctor like a spectator, but apparently in their time apart it had gotten the better of him. His features weren’t hollow, but there was an evident lack of concern in them. </p><p>“Aban!” Robotnik sighed as he pulled Stone up off the floor, before embracing him. “I’ve been looking for you for so long. They’ve kept you hidden away quite well, but it was only a matter of time before I found you. Nothing would have kept me away.”</p><p>There was so much affection lacing his words that Stone had to hug the man. He didn’t care if he shouldn’t have been touching the other man he was too happy to see him, and besides Robotnik had initiated the hug first.</p><p>“Ivo.” He choked out. It wasn’t even a whisper, but they were so close that Ivo could still hear him.</p><p>“Here.” Robotnik said softly as he brought a needle up and injected it into a prominent vein of Stone’s neck. It was concerning to him that the former agent didn’t even flinch as the metal broke his skin. “That should help you to feel a little better, just give it some time to work.”</p><p>Ivo held him a little tighter after than, but when he did finally pull back he saw how Stone had trouble standing up, and he carried him bridal style. Stone himself felt terribly embarrassed at being held, yet he also felt a strange wonder and joy in seeing such a raw display of strength from the other man.</p><p>It was with clear intent that Robotnik navigated the winding halls of the prison. As he backtracked over the path inside Stone was privy to the massive amount of collateral damage that had been felt in his wake, and it was terrifying to see that single minded desire that he knew the doctor had weaponized.</p><p>Stone felt lost in the identical halls, yet Robotnik moved through them easily, as if memorized even though Aban was certain that this had to be the doctor’s first time inside the building.</p><p>Finally there was a blown open whole in the wall with large hunks of debris scattered around it. Robotnik had set him down as he went to so look outside of the exit he had blasted open, and as he walked away stone began to chucked in hysteria until it started to build inside of him, louder and louder.</p><p>He was laughing now. He’d seen it a thousand times, and yet he was still unprepared for what was about to happen to him. Though, it wasn’t worth being sad over, if anyone deserved to kill him it was Dr. Robotnik.</p><p>“Stone? Stone?”Robotnik called to him as he was lost in his own manic world. “Why are you laughing at a time like this, there is nothing funny around to laugh at.”</p><p>“I’m sorry sir, I just thought that I would be ready for it by now.” Stone pulled away and pinned himself to the wall for support, he was careful to keep his arm from blocking his heart, should Robotnik want to go for the kill from there. “Would you like me to scream when you do it? I haven’t done so in a while, but I’ll do my best to make it happen.”</p><p>“Do what, Stone? I’m a genius, but I cant work unless you tell me what the hell you’re talking about.”</p><p>“Well, isn’t this the part where you kill me? I spent so many nights dreaming of this moment. The one where you rescue me from these people just to kill me yourself.” That pathetic chuckle returned again if only for the second it took for Stone to catch his breath. “Honestly I’m not entirely convinced this time isn’t a dream as well, maybe when you kill me this time I’ll wake up in bed again, and they can break my legs again.”</p><p>“Stone this isn’t-”</p><p>“And if I’m lucky and this time is real then I’ll finally get what I deserve, death by your hands.”</p><p>His eyes slipped shut as he waited for blows to come or for something to pierce his body, instead Robotnik pulled him away from the wall into a hug.</p><p>“What the fuck is wrong with you? After I discovered you were here I knew things would be rough, but what… what would make you ask for death?” His words were spoken softly, soften than Stone had ever heard them before.</p><p>Stone was trembling in his grasp, and when Robotnik scratched through the course hair on the back of his head Stone realized he was crying. Hysteria had given way to agony, leaving the man shaking like a child watching his parents fight, powerless.</p><p>His tears were allowed to fall and his body was allowed to relax and calm down, but nothing about the process was peaceful. Antetum had gone over with less fuss than his breakdown, a war inside of the man had arisen from the conflicting information.</p><p>“I betrayed you. I failed you. I told them everything, so why the fuck aren’t you trying to kill me?” He needed to know. What was the doctor’s plan? Had Stone just swapped out one life of torture for another one? Did Robotnik need to air his grievances against him now too?</p><p>“No, you didn’t. You fought back, you would have had to for them to be holding you in such a horrendous place.” Robotnik held the smaller man with a strong hesitance, fearing that Stone still might break at his touch. “You could never betray me, Aban. No one has ever stood by me as loyally as you have. I won’t stop till you can see that. I have an army of perfect machine, but I need you more.”</p><p>Stone didn’t know what the doctor had been through that had lead to this epiphany, but he allowed himself to believe that Robotnik had been changed for the better because of it. And he allowed himself to believe this wasn’t the end for him. Life wouldn’t be easy, but he would try and face it now.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Comments and kudos are my motivation, so i always love receiving them</p></blockquote></div></div>
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